Tuesday, August 23, 2011

You know how you always think of the best birthday gifts a day AFTER your best friends' birthday? Well, this year, I happen to be early... for the first time in my life. It was March and Amy's birthday was coming up in May and Jenn's, a month later in June. I started googling and found our absolute favorite artist, Adele, was playing in Hollywood the day after Jenn's birthday. I immediately bought 3 tickets and booked us a hotel room on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Meanwhile, I got pregnant, Jenn got pregnant 3 weeks later and 3 days before the concert, Adele cancelled due to laryngitis. Was it a sign that we were going to have to give up Adele? Nope. The story gets better! Adele rescheduled for August 17th in Hollywood, 2 days before Amy and I were scheduled to be in LA anyway for a wedding we were shooting in Malibu.. SO, we flew in, stayed at my friend Shawna's amazing house at the top of the Hollywood Hills and rocked out to Adele at the Hollywood Palladium Theatre. We had a BLAST! It is a memory we will never forget!

Swayze's first concert! I found out that she loves Adele too! She danced the whole time!

6 months pregnant on the beach in Santa Monica with absolutely no shame. I had no idea getting larger would be this exciting.

This is my niece Grace trying to draw her best "baby girl" on the paper plate!

Her results.. she even tried to write her name! I give it an E for effort.

Tamra's interpretation :)

My cousin Katey was sure to indicate that those were "legs" not "Boobs" ....riiight.

Andi looking confident..

My second mom growing up in LA... the mother of my best friend, Cindy from grade school, came all the way from LA for the shower! Thank you, Marcia! I love you!!!

My aunt Deb (middle), came from Mission Viejo and my mom (right) came from Arizona!

These are our sweet friends, Linda and Kennedy that came all the way from Thousand Oaks to celebrate with me! What a blessing and a fun surprise! I had not seen my sweet friend, Kennedy in 10 years!!!
Tamra (my spiritual mentor and friend from AZ) and Sienna came from Temecula, CA (where they now live) and surprised me too! This shower was such a joy!

Kennedy and I having a very candid moment.

oh, my sweet first nephew.. Noah. Isn't he so big and handsome?!?

And the beautiful Sunshine that put this all together. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to make this happen. It was PERFECT!! I feel so blessed by you. THANK YOU, SISTER! xoxo

Sunshine closed the day with a beautiful prayer for my baby and my family.

My mom's precious gift to my little girl.. her first pearl. As she hits milestones in her life, she will give another pearl (signifying purity) and we will string them on her wedding day.
My sash of honor: Mommy to be!

My mama :)

My gorgeous cousin, Katey, who was sweet enough to come all the way from Fullerton AND snap all these photos from the day!

Thank you to everyone AGAIN for making the trip to celebrate with us. This is the best time of my life and I am so happy to share it with my friends and family from so many different seasons of life!! I love you all!

This was our second trip to Playa Del Carmen this year and it was better than we remembered! We planned the trip with our best friends (the same group of us that travel to Telluride every year the week before Christmas)! This time around, I was 11 weeks pregnant and Jenn was 8 weeks!

I cropped this image so it would be PG. The boys are in matching speedos. geez.

Through Chance's Eyes

I was invited to attend the wedding of my brother’s childhood friend, John Noehren. John and my brother are both 8 or 9 years older than I am so I wouldn’t say that we had a very friendly relationship growing up--mostly just me getting picked on by my big brother and his friends. Once I was old enough to be less of a punk and came to ASU for college, John and I started to touch base due to the fact that he also resided in the Phoenix area. Through the years it grew into a friendship--a very important friendship.As I entered the door to the venue with my brother, Chet, I saw a ton of people from my home town of Spencer, IA. I immediately started catching up with a few people. I was probably there 10 minutes when I initially saw her. I was in mid conversation and my eyes disengaged from my old friend Dallas’s and they started to follow this woman with a camera in her hands who seemed to be on some type of mission. As she passed I remember saying, “Look at her” --with a smile on my face.As the ceremony started I remember watching her. I was admiring her, no doubt, but the thing I was admiring most was her concentration. She was obviously there to do a job and I liked that. It was probably a good thing that she had made the commitment in her mind to pay no attention to me. Honestly, it made her that much more attractive. I don’t think I had ever seen a woman so focused with so many distractions around. It was HOT.Kacey herded up all of the men for a big group shot. She pulled up a chair to perch herself on to get a better angle and took a couple photos. Getting down from there would be tricky, especially with all that gear in your hands so I bee lined over to her to hopefully help her down and be noticed at the same time. Noticed as a gentlemen, most importantly. Now, I know Kacey will tell you that she said, “No Thank you” but all I heard was, “I still have to take pictures of the girls”. She may have been more polite, but I walked away feeling shot down. But like a phoenix I would rise from the ashes!

As we left for the reception John said something to the effect of, “I have you guys set up, you guys have a killer group at your table..” Chet and I soon realized that 2 of the people, Marc and Brady, who were supposed to be sitting with us had dumped us for another table. They actually had decided to over crowd another table as opposed to sitting with my brother and I. They told us to pull up our chairs as well but that was simply ridiculous. I told Chet we were going to stay put. This freed up 2 seats at our table. So Kacey was now asked to stay and eat and she agreed to not argue with Amee (the bride). She searched and she searched for any other table but mine. But the Lord had a plan and Kacey was going to have to follow it, much to her initial dismay.She was forced to sit directly in front of me. I was talking to somebody else when I realized what had happened. I heard her introduce herself to somebody at this point so I overheard and remembered her name. When that conversation finished up, I looked directly at her, made eye contact, reached over the table with my hand extended and said, “Kacey right?” She shook my hand and I introduced myself.From there, the conversation flood gates opened and we chatted and chatted. It was effortless and engaging. She asked what I did for a living and I told her. Then her next question was something like, “So is that it? Is that the dream? Is that what you want to be doing 5 years from now?” it was such a future/deep question and at that moment I thought maybe, just maybe, she was into me.Kacey left the table to take some more pictures and I made 2 statements to my brother: 1) I loved her and 2) I was going to marry her. It was said lightheartedly of course, but neither turned out to be a lie.

One of the things Kacey and I talked about was nutrition. Being such an information rich subject, I knew we wouldn’t have time to give her all there was to give. So, I told her if she gave me her email address I would email her some stuff that I had on my work computer. That was my in, my golden ticket, and sure enough before she left, she gave me her card, and sure enough, before the night was over, I had lost it. No lie. I was out with my best friend, Antonio after the reception getting some food and I was showing him the card and talking about Kacey. Somehow I managed to forget the card on the table when we left. So I had the Golden Ticket and then I lost it. What a roller coaster of emotions. Antonio and I were at my house and all we had to go on was our memory of the card itself. We vaguely remembered her name and knew her website was her name. So after about 20 attempts to spell Kacey Luvi we struck gold once again.From there I regained her email address and I waited as long as I could (1 day) and then I made the initial contact which was “appropriate” as she puts it, and professional. At the end of my nutritional email I wrote, “I hope you have questions” That left the door open and the email flood ensued. We would send them back and forth constantly.

Eventually we started seeing each other in the flesh. We went out on some dates and always stayed in close contact via email, text, calls etc. I remember knowing that she didn’t seem very optimistic about the two of us as a couple. I asked her about it and the best response she could give me was, “well, I’m here”. Encouraging right? That same night she gave me the book entitled Crazy Love by Francis Chan. She had 2 copies, one for me and one for her. We began to read it together and would converse after every chapter. Long story short, the book changed everything. It changed my perception of who I was. Changed my perception of who God is and it changed my perception of the world around me. Ultimately, God and the words in that short red book changed my heart. The book created a better man, a better boyfriend, a better son, a better brother, a better friend, a better boss, a better co-worker, and even a better enemy. God brought me to my knees in chapter 4 and now here I am. Engaged to marry the most amazing woman I have ever imagined. If you want to know God’s grace, just take a look at Chance Pearson. Somebody who deserves nothing and has been given everything. Am I the only one with tears in my eyes right now?

Kacey's Perspective

Last year, I was hired to photograph a wedding that would take place on May 30th in Chandler. It was a referral from someone I had barely known through my Master's internship. I took the job. It was the wedding of John and Amee.. That's all I knew. So I agreed with the bride to photograph the ceremony and just the beginning of the reception.

First of all, I adhere to a few main rules at weddings to uphold my professionalism. One is.. do not speak to men. No matter what, it always looks like flirting. I try to avoid it at all cost. The wedding was a group of Midwesterners... Iowans, to be exact.. 2 hours from Sioux City, where I went to high school. I thought that was interesting, but not interesting enough to talk to anyone about it. I'm all business--focused on the festivities. Then, I saw him. This one totally stood out of the crowd. It was impossible to avoid. He was stunning. Therefore, I consciously made an effort to avoid eye contact in fear of being too obvious... and dismissed the idea. The next thing I knew, I was up on a chair for a better, wider angle of a group shot of the guys. After the shot, he approached my chair with a hand raised to help me down. I didn't even look him in the eye, and in my most snobby, righteous voice, I said "No thanks.. I have more photos to take." He didn't say a word, walked away, and I felt no obligation to apologize.

The reception began and the bride insisted that I stay for the 4-course meal at 98 South because, after all, she was being generous by purchasing me a plate! Though we agreed that I would leave before the meal, she insisted and I stayed, but I was without a seat. I went to every open chair in the restaurant. Every seat was taken. I avoided his table like the plague and it was my absolute last option. I took a seat right across from him and quietly asked (who I now know was his brother) if this seat was taken. Nope. Dang!

The conversation at the table eventually broke up and he gave it another shot. He reached his hand across the table and said, "Kacey, right?" I was impressed. I didn't show it. But I was quietly impressed. Still saying to myself, "No way this guy could be as smart as he is good looking and have a genuine heart... no way." God's idea was different than mine. He was surprisingly intelligent, articulate, attentive and very quick witted.

I eventually discovered that his degree is in Exercise Wellness, so we started talking nutrition and fitness. He offered to email me a handout of "nutrition 101" that he had once written. So, that was the open door. Since there is no right way to exchange info after a meeting like that, passing out my card to the whole table and accepting his offer to receive an email seemed appropriate. He emailed me 2 days later with the info and a short, appropriate email along with it.

For the next few weeks, we emailed back and forth. We dug into God and life issues, sending in depth emails back and forth throughout the days. Then, we read a book entitled Crazy Love by Francis Chan that changed our lives for the better. It was then that I really started to see his genuine and authentic sensitivity and emotion, revealing a desire to know God more everyday.

We started a typical "dating" process and realized that it would be quite a challenge to make keep physical boundaries in our relationship. But God decided to open our eyes to the heart of the issue at hand. We thought we could rely on our own strength to uphold our purity. We learned quickly that "a fool thinks his way is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel" (prov. 12:15) Long story, I know, but the short of it is, we have been challenged to the extreme and have decided to step up to the plate. I'm not sure he OR I realized the call that was on my life as I am striving to teach purity and identity in Christ to young women through PEARLS Ministries. Now, God is calling us to actually live it and walk through it. So, we have decided to go in the complete opposite direction that we started in. We are now laying down what we think it normal and appropriate for a relationship (according to the world) and doing it as best as we can to honor God and uphold the truth of "fleeing temptation" so that we may present each other purely on our wedding day. Regardless of what our pasts hold, we have committed to the extreme in our relationship and have reaped amazing benefits from it! We trust each other. We communicate well. We love deeply. It's undeniable.